Page 111 of Queen of the Crimson Throne

“Part of of being able to see all means I cannot share information openly.” Her entire shape deflated. “The Stars do not allow me to share what I know about any of what you ask.”

I swallowed a scream as I balled my hands into fists. Of course, she couldn’t tell us anything. That would make this all too easy, wouldn't it.

I’d have a conversation with the Stars one day and let them have a piece of my mind.

“But I can tell you this.” She looked around to all of us. “Be careful who you trust, but do continue to trust your instincts, all of you. They have not led you astray yet.”

Her form grew more faint as she looked toward me again. “Lennox.” There was a hint of urgency to her tone now. She took my hands in hers, they somehow felt real despite being made up of stars. “Listen my dear.” Her voice lowered to a whisper only I could hear as her stars closed around us, hiding my friends from view.

“Look past the arranged marriage. If you take away everything that has put you on this path, look at who you are standing here with. Everything that has led you to him. You are focusing on the wrong thing my dear.” Her stars continued to wink out, her form becoming translucent. “I’ve already said too much, but Lennox, some things are more simple than they seem. Some problems are easily avoided if you let your heart be free.” She placed the waning form of a hand on my chest. “Your heart is still in there. All of it. We’re all rooting for you. All we want is for you to be happy.”

“All?”We?My chest constricted.

She nodded. “All. We all want you to be happy again.”

A tear slipped down my cheek as the last of the stars making up her form winked out and daylight crept back in.

43

LUKA

That was it.

After our encounter with Astria, we all headed back to the palace.

We were all quiet as we mulled over what happened, none of us muttering a word on the long walk back.

All of this time and effort spent trying to find the journals—months of searching—all for Astria to tell us to keep them hidden.

Or destroy them.

I didn’t know how much power the Goddess could have on us from the sky, but I didn’t want to risk disobeying her. Clearly, she was watching us from wherever she resided.

“So what do we do now?” Nico asked.

“Nothing,” Luciana discarded her bag on the ground with a thud before falling back into the chair. “Didn’t you hear what Astria said? Those journals need to stay hidden.”

“She said we should destroy them,” Lennox looked up from the spot on the carpet she stared at. “We need to find the Galtain family and destroy those journals.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Declan’s wings were tucked in tight behind him as helooked out onto the balcony.

“No,” Lennox responded. “But it’s the only way to ensure they remain hidden.”

“She’s right,” I interjected. “We need to go and get those journals. Either keep them in our possession or destroy them. That’s the only way we can ensure they don’t get in the wrong hands.” That was the truth, a truth I didn’t like, but I wasn’t ready to give up on this quest, not yet. I wanted to see what was in those journals. They couldn’t help mine and Lennox’s situation, but I still wanted to see this through. We were all eager to see what lay in those pages.

“When are we leaving?” Nico interjected.

“You think this is a good idea?” Luciana questioned, throwing him a look over her shoulder.

Nico ignored Luciana and looked at me. He had been the one who accompanied me on all my fruitless quests to find information about the journals. “If Luka thinks it’s a good idea I’m with him.”

If looks could kill, Luciana’s look would have sliced clear through Nico.

“I have a few things I need to attend to here over the next few days,” Lennox said, steering my attention back. “But I could go in three days time.” She looked to Luciana. “Does that work for you?”

She took a deep breath. “I can take you anywhere you need in the evening. My mother has been keeping me busy during the day.”

“That’s fine,” Lennox agreed. “It’s settled, in three days we’ll pay the Galtain’s a visit.

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